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Michael Bialas
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After spending more than 25 years in the newspaper business (most recently at the now-defunct Rocky Mountain News in Denver), Michael Bialas is currently taking an online approach to his work. A writer, editor, amateur photographer and former college football player, he primarily has covered sports throughout his career. Among the games he enjoys playing now, though, are reviewing and writing about music, movies, TV and other activities that sometimes don't require a ball.

Blog Entries by Michael Bialas

From Ellie Goulding to Karen O, Rate the Best of the Hangout Hair Bands (Slideshow)

(0) Comments | Posted May 21, 2013 | 10:57 AM

Give me a head with hair, long beautiful hair
Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen

It's not all about the hair when it comes to rock 'n' roll and music festivals, but the 'do-or-die presentation has been an essential part of the act even before the show with the catchy...

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Hangout, Day 2: Tom Petty and the Tontons Aren't That Far Apart

(0) Comments | Posted May 19, 2013 | 2:00 PM

The Hangout Festival isn't all about the headlining acts such as Kings of Leon and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

The pride of Gainesville, Florida, Petty had sort of the home-field advantage Saturday night on the Hangout Stage, playing just one state over and practically a...

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Hangout, Day 1: Kings of Leon, Jim James, Ryan Bingham Kick Off One of the Best Fests (Slideshow)

(1) Comments | Posted May 18, 2013 | 2:01 PM

"This is the best American crowd we've seen in a long, long time."

It only took Kings of Leon frontman and lead singer Caleb Followill 50 minutes to reach that conclusion Friday night at the Hangout Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Getting almost everyone's undivided attention as...

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Hangout and About, Part 4: Delta Rae's Storybook Rise is No Myth

(0) Comments | Posted May 15, 2013 | 8:30 PM

Delta Rae might sound like the down-home name of a backwoods country singer but it's really just Greek to Brittany Holljes.

"I think there are a lot of 'Delta' bands out there, too, so we kind of get that ... people get confused," said Holljes, the whip-smart singer...

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Hangout and About, Part 3: Get to Know Lissie on a One-Name Basis

(1) Comments | Posted May 13, 2013 | 4:10 AM

Professionally known as Lissie, Elisabeth Corrin Maurus identifies with another one-word pop-culture phenomenon not named Madonna, Beyonce or Pink.

The rock-pop singer-songwriter who was raised in the Midwest still has googly eyes for Annie, the spunky fictional character she played as a precocious 10-year-old at Circa '21...

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These Wilder Things: Ruth Moody Goes Dancing in the Dark With Springsteen, Knopfler

(1) Comments | Posted May 9, 2013 | 9:33 AM

Bruce Springsteen and Mark Knopfler have influenced tons of artists over the years, but a sweet-sounding soprano who's co-founder of the charming Canadian trinity known as the Wailin' Jennys wouldn't be the first to come to mind.

Ruth Moody, who possibly possesses the prettiest voice...

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Hangout and About, Part 2: Ryan Bingham Will Ring Your Decibels

(3) Comments | Posted May 7, 2013 | 2:30 PM

Ryan Bingham might look, act and talk like a cowboy, and maybe that's where his crazy heart ultimately lies. But there's more to the singer-songwriter's backstory than the scratchy voice he can raise to eardrum-splitting levels and the hardscrabble past that's impossible to forget.

The 32-year-old musician with a...

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Hangout and About, Part 1: Jason Isbell is Solo, But Not Alone

(6) Comments | Posted May 2, 2013 | 9:10 PM

Jason Isbell doesn't mince words while discussing his battle with the bottle.

"Man, I'm an alcoholic," the Alabama singer-songwriter said of his addiction that involved a dangerously close friendship with Mr. Jack Daniel's. "So I drank all the time. I used to think I didn't drink in the...

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Steve Earle Takes The Low Highway to the Mile-High City

(1) Comments | Posted April 23, 2013 | 1:57 AM

Steve Earle was celebrating in Denver on Saturday night, and it had nothing to do with the Mile-High puff daddies hanging out near Colfax Avenue just two miles to the west.

No, the alt-country outlaw was enjoying his role in Record Store Day on the 25th anniversary of...

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Kickstarting Over: Paula Cole Prepares Raven for Takeoff

(4) Comments | Posted April 16, 2013 | 3:16 AM

Paula Cole is a piano-playing poet and provocateur, a loving daughter and mother, a Grammy winner and seven-time nominee, a dramatic voice of affliction and affection, a risk-taker in a risky business.

These days, though, she is mostly a fighter. On and off four major labels over a...

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All Signs Point to Kacey Musgraves as Country's Bright, Shining Hope

(1) Comments | Posted March 18, 2013 | 5:17 PM

Kacey Musgraves doesn't need a sign from above to indicate whether she's destined for greatness. If country music's latest next big thing has any doubts, there are so many outside forces willing to make it happen.

If that's not enough, Nashville's determined and down-to-earth bundle of energy can...

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After Searching to Find Herself, Heather Maloney Finally Arrives

(2) Comments | Posted March 11, 2013 | 1:06 AM

One of the joys about covering music in my spare time is hearing a singer-songwriter or band for the first time, not having any preconceived notions or prior knowledge of their work. With mounds of sounds stacking up, for whatever reason you dig deep to find the one CD that...

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Dishing Up a Second Helping of Kimberly's Simply Southern Comfort and Joy

(1) Comments | Posted March 4, 2013 | 10:05 AM

How's this for a delicious recipe: Take equal parts of Dolly Parton and Paula Deen, then stir in a dash of Sandra Lee, a smidgen of Reba McEntire and just a pinch of Martha Stewart.

The piece de resistance? A tasty treat called Kimberly's Simply Southern, a cooking/travel/adventure...

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Golden Touch: Lady Antebellum Reveals Details of New Album

(1) Comments | Posted February 18, 2013 | 11:44 PM

A Grammy Award-winning, hit-making machine, Lady Antebellum is moving full-speed ahead to deliver its next record before singer Hillary Scott delivers her first baby. But no matter how long they stay on track, this Nashville trio will avoid covering the same ground.

The country group known for lush harmonies...

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A Driving Force, Holly Williams Finds Her Way Along The Highway

(2) Comments | Posted February 4, 2013 | 11:34 PM

Don't tell Holly Williams that the road is a lonesome place. To begin 2013, there's nowhere else she'd rather be.

Of course, it took a while for the thoughtful singer-songwriter, a breath of fresh Americana heir within country music's royal dynasty, to get back there. And while there...

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String Fever: Carrie Rodriguez Adds Fuel to the Fiery Fiddle

(3) Comments | Posted January 22, 2013 | 1:57 AM

Carrie Rodriguez just might be the hardest-working woman in American roots music. The Austin, Texas-born-and-raised singer-songwriter plays the fiddle, but doesn't fiddle around.

After finally taking a brief respite from the road over the holidays, when she was able to enjoy two of her favorite things -- cooking...

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Getting Trampled by Turtles Becomes Colorado Tradition

(1) Comments | Posted January 18, 2013 | 11:44 AM

If anyone who's listened to Trampled by Turtles' most recent album wondered whether they were finally slowing down, fear not. As is their style, the Minnesota quintet quickly fingerpicked up the pace during the second of two nights at the Ogden Theatre in Denver on January 11.

Oh,...

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Whitehorse-Power Couple: Luke Doucet, Melissa McClelland Will Steal Your Heart

(4) Comments | Posted January 14, 2013 | 12:49 AM

Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland weren't even born when Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston teamed up for the Motown hit single "It Takes Two" in 1965. Two years later, they also missed out when Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty costarred in Bonnie and Clyde, the Academy Award-nominated film...

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A Year's Worth of Cheers (And a Few Jeers) for the Lumineers

(1) Comments | Posted January 7, 2013 | 11:57 AM

The invitations were sent out months ago. Did you RSVP?

While a Denver bash to celebrate a phenomenal, breakout year was thrown by a most promising host, some of us waited until the final day of 2012 to get the party started. In the year of the Lumineers, did...

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12 of 2012's Show-Toppers: Best Concerts of the Year

(2) Comments | Posted December 31, 2012 | 2:26 AM

The Colorado concert calendar was filled with memorable shows in 2012, though the opportunity to go out of state for the Austin City Limits Music Festival in October, then head to Las Vegas this month to see the long-awaited comebacks of two of country's hottest stars was too good to...

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